Changing Program during Your Studies

Do you wish to change your major or minor study program? If so, it is worth ascertaining exactly which credits can be transferred in the new combination of major and minor programs, and which failed attempts still count.

Basic information

1. It is only possible to change to a certain major or minor program if you are not excluded from the program concerned.
   Information on exclusion
2. It is possible to transfer credits to the new program if they are part of the new program according to the information in the course catalogue.
3. Deadlines for completing the assessment level or meeting additional requirements and conditions, for example, will usually continue to apply if you change to a different program.
4. Changing program does not trigger an automatic «restart». It is only possible to apply for a restart in one special case (see below), and this always requires approval.
5. Failed attempts in modules of our Faculty lead to a ban at least in all those programs for which this module is a compulsory module. This is independent of the respective semester enrollment.

If you are uncertain about particulars in your specific situation, please contact the Dean's Office.

Requests for a change of degree program or study program for the coming semester must be submitted via «My Requests» in the student portal. If your situation requires approval, you will receive a Faculty Decision from the examination delegate as part of processing your request in the student portal. With this Faculty Decision, you will be informed whether or not your planned change will be approved or under which conditions it will be approved.

UZH change of degree program or study program

Procedure and common cases

The information below describes various common cases in detail. The basic information listed above applies in all cases.

Example: You wish to change from the Bachelor of Arts UZH in Business and Economics to the Bachelor of Science UZH in Informatics.

If you wish to change from a degree program in Business and Economics to a degree program in Informatics (or vice versa), this is usually possible, but requires approval. It is important to remember that not all minor programs are offered in both degree programs. For this reason, in some cases you may need to select a new minor program in the new degree program.

The following principles apply to individual cases:

Changing before completing the assessment level of the Bachelor's program

You must adhere to the two-year time frame for the assessment level. The deadline is calculated beginning in the semester in which an assessment-level course was first booked at our Faculty. Changing before completing the assessment level is only possible if all coursework in the other degree program can be completed within the required time frame for the assessment level. If you cannot complete the required assessment-level modules for the new degree program within the two-year time frame, you must complete the assessment level for the original degree program and then change.

Changing after completing the assessment level of the Bachelor's program

If you have already successfully completed the assessment level of your original degree program, you will receive the additional requirement to complete any missing assessment-level coursework from your new degree program during the course of your Bachelor's program. Otherwise, any credits earned from coursework in the previous degree program may be transferred to the new one in accordance with the specifications in the course catalogue and all failed attempts at Faculty modules will continue to count.

Changing during the Master's program

If you wish to change your degree program at Master's level, your admission to the new degree program will be reviewed from a subject-specific perspective. This may result in the additional requirements and conditions changing. Otherwise, any credits earned from coursework in the previous degree program may be transferred to the new one in accordance with the specifications in the course catalogue.

Admission to the Master's program

Examples: During your Bachelor's program in Business and Economics, you wish to change your major program from Business Administration to Economics. During your Master's program in Informatics, you wish to change your major program from Software Systems to People-Oriented Computing.

At Bachelor's level, it is possible to change the major study program within your degree program without the need for any further clarifications. If Master's students wish to change, admission to the new major program will be subject to a review. This review will be carried out automatically as part of semester enrollment. If necessary, you will receive an amended letter of admission.

Example: During your Master's program in Informatics with a major program in Information Systems, you wish to change your minor program from Economics to Data Science.

At both Bachelor's and Master's level, it is possible to change the minor program within your degree program without the need for any further clarifications. You are responsible for acquiring any knowledge or skills you may be lacking. It is especially important to do so at Master's level. For this reason, please ensure you read carefully through the requirements in the course catalogue for the minor study program. If you wish to study a minor program outside the Faculty, the requirements defined for that program by the other faculty will apply.

Example: You wish to change from a Bachelor's program in Social Sciences at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with a major program in Political Science and a minor program in Economics, to the Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics with a major program in Economics and a minor program in History, Society, Politics.

You have studied a minor program at our Faculty up to this point and now wish to change to the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics for your major program.

This is permitted in principle, but requires approval. A request for the change must be submitted via «My Requests» in the student portal. You will receive a Faculty Decision from the examination delegate as part of processing your request in the student portal. With this Faculty Decision, you will be informed of the completed coursework credits and failed attempts being transferred to the new study programs.

The following applies:

• Fundamentally, students pursuing a major must adhere to the two-year time frame for the assessment level. The deadline is calculated beginning in the semester in which an assessment-level course was first booked at our Faculty. Changing to a degree program at our Faculty and transferring completed coursework credits is only possible if you can meet the two-year deadline for passing the full assessment level. Otherwise, you must restart.
• A restart is permitted: this means that no coursework credits or failed attempts will be transferred. If you are restarting, you must complete any coursework you have already completed again. Modules that have already been passed but are no longer being credited toward the new program cannot be booked directly. In this case, please contact the Dean's Office.
• In the case of coursework that has already been completed in a study program offered by another faculty, that faculty is responsible for transferring its credits.

Example: You wish to change from a Bachelor's program in Business and Economics, with a major program in Business Administration and a minor program​ in Biology, to a Biology program at the Faculty of Science with a minor program in Business Administration.

You had previously enrolled in a degree program at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics and now wish to study at another faculty, with only a minor program at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics.

As long as the specifications of the new faculty permit the new combination, it is possible to make this change in principle. A request for the change must be submitted via «My Requests» in the student portal.

The following applies:

• A change to a minor study program is possible if no exclusion from the major study program occurs at the end of the current semester. If a student is excluded at the end of the current semester (e.g. due to unsuccessful expiry of the deadline in the assessment year), this can mean an admission restriction and a subsequent ban for the minor study program.
• Please note that some modules at the major assessment level usually cannot be counted towards the minor.
• All academic achievements remain in place.
• In the case of coursework that has already been completed in a study program offered by another faculty, that faculty is responsible for transferring its credits.